Washing apparatus



- y. N. RANSOHOFF 2 WASHING APPARATUS Filed April 10, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Ma.

Y w, d (MM ATTORNEY5 12194:. N. RANS HQFF 2,288 742 WASHING APPARATUS Filed April 10, 1940 2 sheets-sheet 2 IN VENTOR.

WM M ATTORNEY Patented July 7, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE wasnmc APPARATUS Nathan Ransohofl, Cincinnati, Ohio Application April 10, 1940, Serial No. 328,915

9 Claims.

This invention relates to washing machines of the type adapted for industrial usage, forinstance, in washing small castings or metal parts, to clean them of dirt, oil and grease or chips.

The invention is directed particularly to a washing machine of the type embodying a tumbler drum which rotates about a substantially horizontal axis. The washing operation is conducted in one portion of the drum, for instance in an alkaline solution, while in another portion of it the parts are rinsed and permitted to drain. The principal object of the present invention is to provide a simple means for effecting conveyance of the parts from the washing zone to the draining zone of the drum while preventing access of the main bulk of washing solution into the latter part of the apparatus. It is intended that the parts to be cleaned be conveyed-automatically through the machine so that manual handling of the pieces between the washing and rinsing operations be unnecessary.

In substance, therefore, the main object of the invention is to provide a tumbling drum equipped or constructed to transport parts from the washing zone to the rinsing zone but confine the detergent liquid in the washing area and prevent it from contaminating the parts being rinsed.

Briefly, the improvement which provides these functions is comprised of a spiral vane extending inwardly from the interior periphery of. the

tumbler, preferably at substantially right angles to it and intermediate the washing zone and the rinsing zone. This vane extends through one or more convolutions; 111' most instances substantially one and one-half convolutions are adequate. The vane is disposed spirally to advance from the first zone to the second as the drum or tumbler is rotated and constitutes a screw conveyor. Parts which are caught in this conveyor are urged progressively by it and thus advanced from the washing zone to the draining zone.

For the purpose of preventing the passage of detergent solution along with the conveyance of parts, a baffle or dam is installed across the conveyor passageway. This dam extends inwardly fromthe interior surface of the drum between two adjacent'portions of the spiral vane, preferably at some point inwardly .of its forward terminus. This arrangement enables the forepart of the screw to collect a part within the conveyor, then cause it to move over the dam as the tumbler rotates.

As the dam is moved, through rotation of the drum, to a level above that of the detergent solution, the liquid is held back in the first zone of the tumbler and therefore prevented from gaining access to the second zone.

The highest point of the dam is located preferably at a point somewhat below that of the vane. This arrangement is employed so that the parts are kept within the conveyor way when they drop over the dam at the time the dam reaches an elevated position.

While the dam may be an ordinary baffle plate, better still, it may be of levee formation, that is, a member extending chordally across the periphery of the drum and curved inwardly so as to facilitate the travel of the parts across it. The curvature avoids the formation of pockets within which detergent otherwise might be collected at the one side of the dam and discharged to the other side of the dam as it is elevated in its course of travel.

A preferred embodiment of the improvement is shown in the accompanying drawings. From the foregoing description of the principles upon which the invention is based and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art readily will comprehend the various modified forms in which the invention may be utilized.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional elevation through a drum or tumbler provided with a dam in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the dam and conveyor.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view similar to Figure 1, illustrating a modification of the spiral screw in the washing chamber.

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view taken on line 6--6 of Figure 5, further illustrating the modificaabout its axis.

the zone in which the parts are rinsed and permitted to drain. For the purpose of permitting the solution to escape the parts being cleansed, the shell member may be comprised of a metal screen, perforated sheet metal, or otherwise provided with drain apertures.

A spiral conveyor 8, similar to the conveyor 5, is installed within the rinsing chamber likewise, for the purpose of advancing the parts through it. Thus, the course of travel of the articles is indicated by the arrow shown on Figure 1. A spray pipe 9 may extend within the rinsing chamber for providing a spray of rinsing solution or rinse water over the parts from which the worst of the dirt has been removed in the preceding section.

Intermediate the washing zone and the rinsing zone, the spiral conveyor and dam assembly of the present invention is installed. This is comprised of the conveyor section III which conveniently may be carried within the shell I as a continuation of the conveyor 5. The width of inner edge extends substantially above the liquid level maintained within the drum.

The dam member I! extends across adjacent portions of the vane ill, for instance, in a direction substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of the drum, or, in other words, lateral to thesurfaces of the vane. In the preferred embodiment, the dam is a plate extending chordally across the interior periphery of the drum with the edges of the plate being fastened as at l3l3, to the drum, and to the vane as at lll4, for instance, by welding. Plate I2 is curved inwardly toward the axis of the drum and, in respect to the parts or articles being cleaned, constitutes an up and down ramp over which the parts may travel.

The dam l2 preferably is spaced intermediate the terminals of the spiral section III, and it is recommended that-the leading edge I 3 of the and advanced, by the conveyor 5, through the cleansing solution, emerging at the end of the washing chamber in position to be collected within the conveyor ID, as the leading edge of the conveyor moves by. Caught in this conveyor section, the parts are advanced toward the dam and elevated by it as the drum rotates. At some point during the course of revolution, the parts slide over the dam, as illustrated by the dotted lines shown in Figure 3, but substantially all of the cleansing solution has by this time been held back in the main washing chamber by the dam since it extends across the passageway to obstruct the flow of cleaning solution. At the other side of this obstruction, the parts pass through the conveyor l0 and are advanced through the rinsing and draining chamber by the conveyor 8.

The conveyors 5 and 8 are desirable to use in tumblers which rotate at a substantially horizontal axis. If the axis of rotation is inclined, the parts advance by gravity and these conveyor sections are therefore unnecessary. The structure of the conveyor and dam operates with or without the use of them.

In Figures 5 and 6, a modified spiral conveyor [5 is utilized in the wash chamber. The spiral is made preferably from a strip of metal which is generally cycloidal in cross section. The strip is secured to the wall of the drum to provide a long spiral of steep pitch over the length of the wash chamber. The rounded face of the strip is presented to the inside of the chamber. This type of spiral may be utilized for work which requires a comparatively long soaking wash. As the drum rotates, the work is tumbled over the spiral, being urged gradually with each revolution of the drum toward the dam l2.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A machine adapted to be used for cleansing metal parts, comprising a tumbler having an imperforate zone in which the parts to be cleansed are subjected to a detergent solution and also having an adjacent zone in which parts are rinsed and then drained, the tumbler comprising means intermediate the two zones including a spiral vane in the imperforate zone for advancing parts caught .therein to the adjacent zone, and a darn extending across the passageway which the vane delineates, the said dam being of lesser height than the said vane, thereby permitting the articles to pass over the dam while being advanced by said vane, the said dam also being of sufficient height to block the flow of liquid through the passageway constituted by said vane.

2. A machine comprising a tumbler chamber adapted to be rotated about a substantially hori-' zontal axis and comprising two zones, in one of which the tumbler is irnperforate and in the other of which the tumbler is perforate, an imperforate spiral vane carried within the tumbler chamber intermediate the two zones thereof and positioned in the imperforate zone to advance parts therefrom to the perforate zone during the rotation of the tumbler, and plate means extending across the passageway and constituting a dam for blocking the passageway through the vane with respect to a body of solution located in the imperforate zone of the tumbler, said plate means being configurated to also constitute a ramp for facilitating the conveyance oi parts through the passageway.

3. A machine of the class described, comprising a rotatable drum comprising adjoining sections, one constituting an imperforate shell in which a bath of detergent solution is adapted to be contained, and the other comprisingv a shell perforated to permit liquid to drain therefrom, imperforate screw conveyor means in the imperforate shell for moving parts from the first shell to the second, and means constituting a dam across the passageway formed by adjacent portions of the conveyor for preventing the passage of liquid from the first shell to the secnd, said dam means being configurated to present an inclined slope upon which parts advanced by the said screw conveyor means may be elevated over the dam to pass to the other section of the machine.

4. A machine of the class described, comprising an imperforate rotatable cylinder, an imperforate spiral vane extending from the internal periphery of the cylinder and constituting a ing a rotatable tumbler, a spiral vane extending from the internal periphery of the tumbler and constituting a screw conveyor for advancing parts therethrough, when the tumbler is rotated, and dam means constituting a plate disposed chordally with respect to the tumbler periphery and across the passageway constituted by adjacent portions of the vane.

6. A machine of the class described, comprising a rotatable tumbler cylinder, a spiral vane extending from the internal periphery of the 1 tumbler and constituting a screw conveyor for advancing parts therethrough, when the tumbler is rotated, and a dam comprising an inwardly curved plate disposed chordally with respect to the tumbler periphery across the passage constituted by adjacent portions of the vane.

7. A machine of the class described, comprising a tumbler, a spiral vane extending from the internal periphery of the tumbler and constituting a screw conveyor for advancing parts therethrough, and a dam comprising a plate extending chordally with respect to the periphery of the tumbler, and laterally with respect to the vane, across the passageway constituted by adjacent portions of the vane, with the highest point of the dam being spaced, relatively, below the highest point of the vane.

8. A machine of the class described, comprising a drum rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, a conveyor constituting an imperforate spiral vane extending inwardly from the internal periphery of the drum intermediate its ends, and a dam extending laterally with respect to the vane across the passageway constituted by adjacent portions of it, the dam being adapted to permit the passage of articles through the conveyor from one portion of the drum' to the other, but of suflicient height to prevent the passage of liquid from the one portion of the drum to the other through the channel way constituted by the vane, whereby articles disposed within the drum at the one side of the conveyor may be immersed in a body of detergent solution contained therein, then advanced by the conveyor to a portion of the drum at the other end of it and therein permitted to drain free of detergent solution. a

9. A machine comprising a tumbler chamber adapted to be rotated about a substantially horizontal axis, a spiral vane of relatively steep pitch and of low height extending inwardly from the tumbler at one portion and adapted to act as an agitator and conveyor for articles introduced into the tumbler adjacent the vane, a spiral wine of lesser pitch and greater height, and adapted to act as a conveyor in an adjoining portion of the tumbler, and means extending across the passageway cofistituted by adjacent portions of the second spiral vane forming a dam extending across the path of articles as they are urged through the conveyor by the spiral action of the vanes, the said dam being of suflicient height to block the flow of liquid through the said vane passageway but of insuflicient height to block the passage of articles through said passageway.

NATHAN RANSOHOFF. 

